Survey shows damage caused by logging

Logging has increased in tropical African forests in recent decades, according to satellite data released that reveal these unique ecosystems are being destroyed.

Though the dense humid forests of Central Africa have been regarded as among the most pristine on Earth, the expansion of industrial logging and the accompanying proliferation of road networks and clearings are threatening the future of this important ecosystem.

Industrial logging has now become the most extensive form of land use in the region, according to the study in the latest issue of the journal Science.

Nadine Laporte and colleagues at the at Woods Hole Research Centre in Falmouth, Massachusetts used over 300 Landsat satellite images, covering four million square kilometers, to track the progression of logging roads for three decades preceding 2003, starting in 1976.

The highest logging road densities were in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea,and the most rapidly changing area was in northern Republic of Congo, where the rate of road construction has roughly quadrupled over this time period.

With the exception of the Okoumé forests of Gabon, most of the industrial logging is selective and focused on high-value tree species for export, such as African mahoganies, according to Laporte, an associate scientist at the Woods Hole Research Centre and lead author of the work.

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"It has never been timelier to monitor forest degradation in Central Africa because there is still an opportunity to make a significant difference in reducing the amount of deforestation. The Democratic Republic of Congo contains most of the remaining forest and is the last frontier for logging expansion in Africa."

"In central Africa, industrial logging is mainly for export to Europe and more recently to China, and most of the processing was done abroad until new forest laws were put in place the last 10 years," she told The Daily Telegraph.

For the study, the researchers mapped nearly 52,000 km of logging roads within the forested region, which includes Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo, and Democratic Republic of Congo. Prior to this work, there was not a reliable way to monitor both legal and illegal logging.

Jared Stabach, coauthor, said: "Roads provide access, and this research provides clear evidence that the rainforests of Central Africa are not as remote as they once were . . . a bad thing for many of the species that call it home."

Monitoring the expansion of logging in thedense humid forest of Central Africa is not only important for biodiversity conservation but also for climatic change.

Industrial logging in Central Africa is the most extensive land use with more than 30 percent of the forest under logging concession and the clearing of these forests could significantly increase carbon emissions.

Scott Goetz, another co-author, notes that the combination of increasing population, economic development and climatic change means that "Africa is poised for irreversible change, so it is important to help African countries with tools to monitor what is happening to their forests."

This study provides the first detailed view of industrial logging in Central Africa, enabling conservation agencies, government agencies, scientists, industry officials and others to better gauge how the expansion of logging is impacting the forest and its inhabitants.

Dr. Laporte adds: "This work helps to provide key data to local scientists, allowing them the tools needed to work with policy makers to help manage their forests, and in the process reduce biodiversity loss and carbon emissions from deforestation."

Currently more than 600,000 km2 (30 per cent) of forest in the region are under logging concessions, while just 12 per cent is protected.